Legal Protection for "Non-Original" Databases
43. The Act currently provides protection for databases that can be said to be "compilations" within the definition of a literary work. Copyright protection will, however, only extend to those aspects of the layout and arrangement of information that can be considered original - not the information itself.
44. The discussion paper asked whether additional protection for databases, over and above that which is available under the Act, is required. The vast majority of respondents who addressed this question considered that there was no need to provide additional protection. Several respondents cited the low threshold for "originality" in New Zealand for this view.
45. Of the small number of respondents who considered additional protection was required, the majority favoured changes to the Act rather than the development of sui generis database protection (only two respondents considered that the European sui generis model should be considered).
46. Some respondents, while not arguing in favour of additional protection, suggested legislative clarification of the originality requirement to provide certainty.
Back to Top